Friday, October 19

Regina in OC Register :)

I found this article today, while I opened OC Register. Couple of little upsies ( like Regina starting second round in november ( well, it is hopefully last chemo round in November).... :) ALSO , check out rest of the pics on OC register page..

Ducks game is high point for girl battling cancer

Eight-year-old fighting brain tumors gets royal treatment at Ducks game, thanks to help from strangers.

ANAHEIM – Regina Tan, 8, rode on the Zamboni machine on the Honda Center ice Wednesday at the Ducks-Predators game.

Then she went back to her front-row seat, sporting a pink Ducks jersey signed by the whole team.

"The Duck gave me a jersey!" she cried to her mother, running down the aisles after the "The Duck," mascot Wild Wing, presented her with the signed memorabilia.

She also wore a black-and-red knit cap – hiding the bald patches on her head.

It was an extended and tenuous social net that prompted a Yorba Linda man to give his center-ice seats to Wednesday's game to Regina, a girl he never met or knew existed until a few weeks ago.

"She's a Ducks fan," said Don Seaman of Yorba Linda. "I've got five seats on the glass and I've got seats in Row 'B' as well. I said, 'Why don't I give the tickets to Regina? I'm going to pull a few strings.' This is just something very small I can do for her."

Seaman has been a Ducks season-ticket holder since the team's inception. After nearly 15 years of devotion to a hockey team, most people wouldn't give away their rinkside seats to a stranger.

But Regina gave him a reason. The Laguna Niguel resident is fighting cancer for a second time. She already beat the disease once a couple years ago – but it's since returned, assaulting her brain with dozens of tumors.

As late as June, doctors told her family Regina had two months to live. Doctors suggested they take Regina home and enjoy her company.

Her mother, Diana Tan, frantically searched hospitals and clinics throughout Southern California, trying to find another treatment program for Regina.

Now, Regina is weathering her first round of chemotherapy at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. Her mother says Regina's tumors are shrinking.

But Regina's future is far from certain, and she starts a second round of the chemical treatment in November.

"All our friends are doing really great things for her to keep her focused and keep her mind off the chemo," Diana Tan said.

Stranger's help

Neither Regina nor Diana Tan had ever met Seaman, who runs a pest control business. It was Diana Tan's friend's husband – Steve Malloy of Placentia – who was friends with Chad Seaman, Don Seaman's son. Chad Seaman, who helps his father run the extermination business, told his father about Regina's plight – and that she was a Ducks fan.

Don called up Steve Malloy and set up the game date through him.

The Tans also were unaware that the exterminator they had never met serviced the home of Ducks second-string goalie Ilya Bryzgalov.

Don Seaman visited his client, a small pink Ducks jersey in hand. Bryzgalov, touched by Regina's story, promised he'd make sure the team gave her a memorable experience.

"My kids are all healthy, my kids are all healthy and I'm OK," Seaman said. "If there's anything she wants, anywhere she wants to go, I'll do it for her."